Friday, March 30, 2007

Tomato pacchadi

This simple thakkali/tomato pacchadi is my entry for this month's JFI - Tomatoes hosted by RP
Ingredients

Tomato - 3
Onion - 1
Coconut - 1/4cup
Jeera - 1tsp
Garlic - 1 pod
Curry leaves - a few
Turmeric powder - 1/2tsp
Red chilli powder - 1tsp
Oil -2tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2tsp

Method

Grind coconut,jeera,garlic and curry leaves into a fine paste.Slice onions and tomatoes.In a pan , heat oil and fry mustard seeds,urad dal and curry leaves.Add sliced onions and fry till they are soft.Now add the grinded coconut paste,red chilli powder,turmeric powder and fry till raw smell goes away.Finally add sliced tomatoes ,salt and saute for a while.Add water if needed.Cook till tomatoes are soft.Serve hot with rice.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

AFAM -(March) Pineapple Round up

Here it is...the roundup of delicious recipes by you all.Mind blowing entries...Thanks to all you for participating on this and a warm welcome to all the newcomers.Now if have some extra pineapple left, just check on this page to make good use of it.Feel free to comment on your suggestion for next month's AFAM.
CAKES
Pineapple upside down cake by Deepz of Letzcook

Pineapple coconut mini bundt cakes by Asha of Aromahope


Pineapple wonder by sukhanya of Hot and Sweet bowl

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake by SJ of A Pinch Of Spice

Pecan-Pineapple Upside down cake by Trupti of The Spice who loved me

DESSERTS

Pineapple Flower cups by Sharmi of Neivedhyam


Pineapple with mint sugar by Coffee of My Khazana of Recipes

Broiled pineapple bites by @ of Yum yum mum mum


Pan fried Pineapple by MenuToday


Pineapple basundi by Viji of Vcuisine



Pineaaple Pudding by Maheswari of Beyond The Usual

Pinapple Excotica by Sushma of Sunkiran's Recipe Source

DRINKS


Pina colada by Jyotsna of Curry bazaar

Pineapple wine by Shn of Kitchen Mishmash


Ginger Flavored Roasted Pineapple Sorbet by Sigma of Live to Eat

AUTHENTIC

Pineapple Menaskai by supriya of Spice corner


Pineapple Rasam by Viji of Vcuisine



Pineapple chutney by Sandeepa of Bongmom's cookbook


Pineapple rasam by Jai and Bee of Jugalbandi

SALSAS

Pineapple salsa by Padamja of My Cookbook



Pineapple salsa by Soumya of FoodLovers



Pineapple salsa by Priya of Aahaar vihaar


RICE

Pineapple Fried rice by Roopa of My chow chow bath
JAM

Instant Pineapple Jam by Richa of As Dear As Salt

RAITA

Pineapple Raita by Swapna of Swad of India

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Mutton vindaloo

Mutton vindaloo, another one my fav. , which i order on my most visits to the restaurants.This is my first time to re create this dish at home and came out very well.

Ingredients

Mutton -250 gms
Potatoes - 100 gms
Tomato puree - 75 ml
Cardamom - 2
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon - a small piece
Onion - 1
Oil - as needed

For grinding

Ginger - a small piece
Garlic - a few
Red chillies - 2
Cumin - a pinch
Cinnamon - a small piece
Vinegar - 20 ml

Coriander leaves - for garnishing

Method

In a pan heat 1tsp of oil and fry chopped onion well.Cool it and grind it into fine paste.Grind all the other ingredients listed under "For grinding".Apply this paste over the cleaned mutton and keep it aside.In a pan heat oil,add cardamom, cloves and cinnamon.Now add grounded onion and saute for few min.s.Now add mutton and fry.add water if needed.when mutton is 3/4 th done, add prepared potatoes and cook.add tomato puree and salt.Heat until both meat and potatoes are cooked well.Serve hot with rice/roti.


Sunday, March 18, 2007

Chicken Cutlets

Ingredients

Grounded chicken - 1 lb
Onion - 1/2 (large sized, chopped)
Potatoes - 2 (boiled and mashed)
Green chillies - 3 (chopped)
Ginger garlic paste - 1tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2tsp
Garam masala - 1/2tsp
Egg - 1 (separated)
Bread crumbs - as needed
Oil - As needed

Method

Wash grounded chicken by placing it the running water.Drain the water.In pan , saute this grounded chicken with little salt and turmeric powder.Saute well till the chiken is cooked through.In the mean time, boil and mash the poatatoes well.In another pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and fry onions, green chillies until onions are soft.Add gg paste to this and saute till raw smell goes.Add mashed potatoes to this and add garam masala,salt and chicken.Switch off the heat when the raw smell is gone.Mix everything very well and add egg yolk to it.Let the mixture cool a bit.After cooling down, shape it into hearts using a cookie cutter.Take each cutlet and roll it in the beated egg white and then roll it in the bread crumbs.Shallow fry these in hot oil.You can also bake them in the oven at 450 degrees for about 10-12 min.s or until golden brown.






Zucchini Thepla

This is my entry for Coffee's MBP - Let's roll.I tried this delicious and little spicy thepla's from Trupti's The Spice who loved me.Came out very good and a big thanks to Trupti's for sharing this.I served these thepla's with spicy mango pickle.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Pineapple Pudding

Pineapple Pudding, an easy to make dessert which my lil' one loves to dig in.Try making it with different flavoured jello and fruits.I am sure your kids will love it..hmmm..even the bigger ones..:)This is my entry for this month's AFAM - Pineapple.





Ingredients

Jello - 1 packet (Pineapple or orange flavoured)
Pineapple chunks - 1 can (i used Dole brand)
Cool Whip - 4 ounce
Condensed milk - 1/2 can
Cream Cheese - 2 ounce (optional)

Method

Keep aside few pieces of pineapple chunks for garnishing.Blend pineapple chunks into a smooth mixture.Do not add the juice,keep it aside.Make jello as per packet instructions.(You can use the pineapple juice from the dole can instead of cold water for making jello).When the jello powder completely dissolved,add pineapple mixture,condensed milk and cool whip and whisk it well.Everything should be in cooperated very well.Pour this jello mix into molds or small containers.Refrigerate for at least 4-5 hrs before serving.Garnish with pineapple chunks.If you are using molds, then just before serving place them in a bed of warm water, which helps the pudding to come out easily.I used a small glass bowl as the mold this time.


Sunday, March 11, 2007

Mutter Paneer Masala

Mutter paneer masala, my most fav. north indian dish.I served this with Avacado parathas.I made Mutter gobi also, the same way.


Ingredients

Paneer - 1/2 lb
Mutter - 1 1/2 cups
Onion - 2 (sliced)
Ginger garlic paste - 1tbsp
Red chilli powder - 2tsp
Dania powder - 1tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2tsp
Tomato - 1
Half n' half - 1/4cup
Kaskas- 1/2tsp
Water - 1/4 cup
Kasoori methi - 1tsp
Jeera - 1tsp
Oil -2tbsp

Method

In a pan, heat oil and fry sliced onions till its color changes.Add gg paste and fry for 3 more mins.Put this into a blender along with red chilli powder,dania powder,turmeric powder,tomato,kaskas and grind well.In a pan add 1tsp of oil and fry jeera.Add the grounded paste into this and fry till oil separates.Add frozen peas and water into this and lt it boil.Once the peas are almost cooked,reduce the heat and add half n' half into this.Add paneer pieces into this and cover and cook for about 5 min.s.Now open and add kasoori methi and cook for another 2 -3 min.s.Serve hot with roti/rice.





Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Spicy Rava/Sooji Kichadi

This was my fav. "on the go" breakfast item from a small food stall at Besant nagar,Chennai, that i used grab on my way to work.They had wonderful menu for all breakfst items.Though it was very small stall, they were always busy and you won't get your fav. item if you go little late.So here is my attempt on my fav. rava kichadi.

Ingredients

Rava - 2 C (fine)
Onion - 1 (chopped)
Tomato - 1(chopped)
Green peas - 1/2 C
Carrot - 1/4 C (grated)
Ghee - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4tsp
Salt - as needed
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Curry leaves- as needed
Oil - 2 tsp
Cashews - as needed (opional)

To grind

Garlic - 2 pods
Cinnamon - 1 piece
Cloves - 2
Cardamom - 1
Fennel seeds/Perunjeeragam - 1/2tsp
Green chillies - 3

Method

In a pan, heat 1 tsp of ghee and fry rava in that till nice aroma comes.Keep it aside and let it cool down.In a kadai, heat oil and ghee.Fry mustard seeds,curryleaves.Fry Onions and tomatoes.Add green peas, carrot,turmeric powder and the grounded paste and fry well till raw smell goes.Now add 5 cups of water and salt to this and let it come to boil.Now add rava to this and mix well.Once it is getting to boil, cover the lid and keep it in low flame for about 8-10mts.I served it hot with coconut- mint chutney.


Monday, March 05, 2007

Chocalate Icecream with Pecans

This is my first attempt on making homemade ice cream.Made this double chocalate icecream with pecans.Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients

Bittersweet chocolate chips - 1/2 c

Dark chocolate chips - 1/2 c

Granulated sugar - 1/2 c

Whole milk - 1 Cup

heavy cream - 2 cups

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Pecans - 1/2 c


Method

Begin by heating the milk in a small saucepan just until bubbles start to form around the edges. Do not let the milk get too hot or it will scald.In your blender, combine the two types of chocolate chips and the granulated sugar and process until the mixture is very well chopped. Pour the hot milk into the blender and process until smooth and creamy.Pour into a medium sized bowl and let the mixture cool completely. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Cover and put the entire mixture into the freezer for 2 hours.Pour your chocolate mixture into blender and blend it until its smooth textured.Pour this into the freezer container and stir inthe pecans also.Freeze for about 2 hours or until firm.I served it in the store brought ice cream cones.


Sunday, March 04, 2007

AFAM-March

Hey all, sorry for the delay in announcing March's fruit.Got caughtup in little household work..yeap you guessed right..laundry..(?).Now letz get into AFAM.

This Month's Fruit is PINEAPPLE.Pinapple, a delicious tropical fruit full flavour and juice.Letz get started shall we....cook it for dessert or cook it with meat.






The last date for submitting entires is extended because of the delay in announcement.Date For submitting will be MARCH 24TH,2007.
For more info on AFAM Click on the Logo.